Chinese internet giant Alibaba - which had the world's biggest public stock offering in history last year - has denied its share price is about to halve.

The company raised $25bn (£16bn) in its November share flotation, as demand drove shares to open at $92.70 on the New York Stock Exchange - almost 40% above its $68 initial public offering (IPO) price.

But after rocketing 75% in their first two months of trading, shares recently slipped below their IPO price.

Now weekly financial newspaper Barron's has warned its share price could be cut in half as a result of China's struggling economy, and increasing competition in e-commerce.

After Alibaba warned of lower-than-expected sales, the Barron's report said: "That may only worsen as China's economic growth drops to its lowest pace in six years."

The report prompted Alibaba to hit back, saying the article "contains factual inaccuracies and selective use of information, and the conclusions the reporter draws are misleading".

In a letter published on its website addressed to Barron's editor, Alibaba said: "Your 12 September article with the sensational headline 'Alibaba: Why It Could Fall 50% Further' lacks three key ingredients - integrity, professionalism and fair play.

"We take strong issue with the reporting about the state of our company, and we feel compelled to set the record straight.

"Jonathan Laing's story contains factual inaccuracies and selective use of information, and the conclusions he draws are misleading.

"The facts above provide a clear and compelling case for the lack of integrity, professionalism and fairness of Mr Laing's reporting.

"We urge you to issue a correction and we stand ready to discuss this with you at any time."

Alibaba said Barron's wrongly compared the company to eBay, and said it should instead be compared instead with its Chinese peers because eBay does not operate in China.